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ATLANTA (WXIA) -- Both Ebola patients being treated at an Atlanta hospital have been released.

Dr. Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol were cleared of the virus.

Writebol was released Tuesday, while Dr. Brantly was released Thursday.

"God saved my life," said Brantly, looking gaunt, at a press conference Thursday, at which the room applauded his appearance. He thanked his medical team and the millions of people around the world praying for his recovery. "Please do not stop praying for the people of West Africa."

Bruce Ribner, medical director of the hospital's Infectious Disease Unit,said Brantly will go to an undisclosed location with his wife and children after the conference.

Brantly and Writebol were flown to Emory Hospital from West Africa. They have been treated in the hospital's specialized unit and have received supportive care aimed at keeping them hydrated and stable. Writebol was a volunteer with another aid group, SIM USA.

Dr. Kent Brantly, one of two U.S. Ebola patients who have recovered from the virus, says he is 'forever thankful to God for sparing my life.'

Here's what Dr. Brantly said as he was released Thursday:

"Today is a miraculous day. I am thrilled to be alive, to be well and to be reunited with my family. As a medical missionary, I never imagined myself in this position. When my family and I moved to Liberia last October to begin a two-year term working with Samaritan's Purse, Ebola was not on the radar. We moved to Liberia because God called us to serve the people of Liberia.

"In March, when we got word that Ebola was in Guinea and had spread to Liberia, we began preparing for the worst. We didn't receive our first Ebola patient until June, but when she arrived, we were ready. During the course of June and July, the number of Ebola patients increased steadily, and our amazing crew at ELWA Hospital took care of each patient with great care and compassion. We also took every precaution to protect ourselves from this dreaded disease by following MSF and WHO guidelines for safety.

"After taking Amber and our children to the airport to return to the States on Sunday morning, July 20, I poured myself into my work even more than before - transferring patients to our new, bigger isolation unit; training and orienting new staff; and working with our Human Resources officer to fill our staffing needs. Three days later, on Wednesday, July 23, I woke up feeling under the weather, and then my life took an unexpected turn as I was diagnosed with Ebola Virus Disease. As I lay in my bed in Liberia for the following nine days, getting sicker and weaker each day, I prayed that God would help me to be faithful even in my illness, and I prayed that in my life or in my death, He would be glorified.

"I did not know then, but I have learned since, that there were thousands, maybe even millions of people around the world praying for me throughout that week, and even still today. And I have heard story after story of how this situation has impacted the lives of individuals around the globe - both among my friends and family, and also among complete strangers. I cannot thank you enough for your prayers and your support. But what I can tell you is that I serve a faithful God who answers prayers.

"Through the care of the Samaritan's Purse and SIM missionary team in Liberia, the use of an experimental drug, and the expertise and resources of the health care team at Emory University Hospital, God saved my life - a direct answer to thousands and thousands of prayers.

"I am incredibly thankful to all of those who were involved in my care, from the first day of my illness all the way up to today - the day of my release from Emory. If I tried to thank everyone, I would undoubtedly forget many. But I would be remiss if I did not say thank you to a few. I want to thank Samaritan's Purse, who has taken care of me and my family as though we were their own family. Thank you to the Samaritan's Purse and SIM Liberia community. You cared for me and ministered to me during the most difficult experience of my life, and you did so with the love and mercy of Jesus Christ.

"Thank you to Emory University Hospital and especially to the medical staff in the isolation unit. You treated me with such expertise, yet with such tenderness and compassion. For the last three weeks you have been my friends and my family. And so many of you ministered to me not only physically, but also spiritually, which has been an important part of my recovery. I will never forget you and all that you have done for me.

"And thank you to my family, my friends, my church family and to all who lifted me up in prayer, asking for my healing and recovery. Please do not stop praying for the people of Liberia and West Africa, and for a quick end to this Ebola epidemic.

"My dear friend, Nancy Writebol, upon her release from the hospital, wanted me to share her gratitude for all the prayers on her behalf. As she walked out of her isolation room, all she could say was, 'To God be the glory.' Nancy and David are now spending some much needed time together.

"Thank you for your support through this whole ordeal. My family and I will now be going away for a period of time to reconnect, decompress and continue to recover physically and emotionally. After I have recovered a little more and regained some of my strength, we will look forward to sharing more of our story; but for now, we need some time together after more than a month apart. We appreciate having the opportunity to spend some time in private before talking to some of you who have expressed an interest in hearing more of our journey. Thank you for granting us that.

"Again, before we slip out, I want to express my deep and sincere gratitude to Samaritan's Purse, SIM, Emory and all of the people involved in my treatment and care. Above all, I am forever thankful to God for sparing my life and am glad for any attention my sickness has attracted to the plight of West Africa in the midst of this epidemic. Please continue to pray for Liberia and the people of West Africa, and encourage those in positions of leadership and influence to do everything possible to bring this Ebola outbreak to an end. Thank you."

Both also received doses of an experimental drug, called Zmapp, which includes man-made antibodies against Ebola. Although Zmapp has shown promise in animals, it has not yet been tested in humans. Experts have said it's not possible to conclude that Zmapp cured their disease, although getting good supportive care at Emory, one of the world's best hospitals, likely improved their chances of survival.

The CDC issued this statement Thursday morning:

CDC is heartened to learn that the two U.S. citizens treated at Emory University Hospital for Ebola have been discharged from the hospital and can rejoin their families and communities.

CDC has advised Emory University Hospital that there is no public health concern with the release of these patients. They no longer have Ebola virus in their blood and therefore pose no risk to household contacts or the public. There are no restrictions to the patients' activities of daily living.

CDC provided consultation to the healthcare team at Emory University Hospital and conducted the laboratory testing of patients to confirm that they no longer had Ebola virus circulating in their blood. Individuals who recover from Ebola are not contagious as far as transmitting the virus through close personal contact with blood or body fluids such as urine, feces, sweat, or vomit.

At times people in Africa who have recovered from Ebola have found their communities reluctant to have them return out of fear that community members could catch Ebola from a person who has survived the illness. Based on available evidence, Ebola survivors have not transmitted the virus to others after it is no longer present in their blood.

Health workers unload Martin Salia, a surgeon working in Sierra Leone who had been diagnosed with Ebola, from an ambulance on Nov. 15 at the Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. (Photo: Sarah Hoffman, AP)

A health worker sprays disinfectant near a mosque after the body of a man suspected of dying from the Ebola virus was washed inside before being buried on Nov. 14 in Bamako, Mali. (Photo: Baba Ahmed, AP)

Health workers with the International Federation of the Red Cross and personnel with Doctors Without Borders take participate in a pre-deployment Ebola training exercise on Oct. 29 at Red Cross headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. (Photo: Fabrice Coffrini, AFP/Getty Images)

A Kenyan Port Health Services worker tells a boy to return to an observation room for Ebola screening at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi on Oct. 28. (Photo: Daniel Irungu, European Pressphoto Agency)

A photograph provided by attorney Steven Hyman shows nurse Kaci Hickox in an isolation tent on Oct. 26 at University Hospital in Newark, N.J. Hickox was quarantined in New Jersey after caring for Ebola patients in West Africa. She was being released after being symptom-free for 24 hours and will be flown to Maine. She complained that there was not a shower, flushable toilet, television or reading material in the isolation tent. (Photo: Steven Hyman via AP)

Amber Vinson, right, a Texas nurse who contracted Ebola after treating an infected patient, hugs members of her nursing team during a press conference after being released from care at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta. (Photo: Daniel Shirey, Getty Images)

Members of the Community Outreach Team hand out information about Ebola to residents outside an apartment building at 172nd Street and Stratford Avenue in New York. A 5-year-old boy who lives in the building and recently returned to New York City from the West African nation of Guinea is being tested for Ebola after he was rushed to the hospital with symptoms consistent with the disease, according to health officials. (Photo: Don Emmert, AFP/Getty Images)

New York City Police officers stand in front of 546 West 147th Street, the apartment building of Dr. Craig Spencer on Oct. 25. Spencer, who was working in Africa with the Doctors Without Borders organization, was quarantined after showing symptoms of the virus after his return to New York City. (Photo: Bryan Thomas, Getty Images)

Members of the Department of Defense's Ebola Military Medical Support Team dress with protective gear during training at San Antonio Military Medical Centerin San Antonio on Oct. 24. The team will consist of 20 critical care nurses, 5 doctors trained in infectious disease, and 5 trainers in infectious disease protocols. (Photo: Eric Gay, AP)

Members of the media gather in front of the closed Gutter bowling alley, where Craig Spencer bowled recently in Brooklyn, N.Y. Spencer, who tested positive as New York's first case of Ebola, is in isolation at Bellevue Hospital. (Photo: Jewel Samad, AFP/Getty Images)

Health alerts regarding people who may have traveled to particular West African countries are posted in the lobby of Bellevue Hospital in New York. Craig Spencer, a resident of New York City and a member of Doctors Without Borders, was admitted to Bellevue Thursday and has been diagnosed with Ebola. (Photo: Mark Lennihan, AP)

Women work on a protective suit for use in handling people infected with the Ebola virus in a sewing room at Lakeland Industries Inc. Lakeland, a global manufacturer of industrial protective clothing, produces suits to be worm by healthcare workers and others being exposed to Ebola. (Photo: Johannes Eisele, AFP/Getty Images)

Spec. Jason Dumas, left, helps Spec. David Quichocho, right, with his protective boots during a training session at Ft. Carson. Both soldiers are from the 615th Engineer Company, 52nd Engineer Battalion which will be deploying approximately 160 engineers to West Africa to help with the fight against Ebola. (Photo: Jerilee Bennett, The Colorado Springs Gazette via AP)

A Liberian health worker disinfects a street corner where a suspected Ebola patient was picked up and taken into an ambulance to be transported to an Ebola treatment unit in Monrovia, Liberia. (Photo: Ahmed Jallanzo, European PressPhoto Agency)

Health workers from the Liberian Red Cross wear protective gear as they shovel sand which will be used to absorb fluids emitted from the bodies of Ebola victims in front of the ELWA 2 Ebola management center in Monrovia. (Photo: Zoom Dosso, AFP/Getty Images)

German volunteering soldiers wear protective equipment in Appen, Germany, as they take part in an intensive course to prepare volunteer helpers for their deployment in Ebola-hit countries. (Photo: Bodo Marks, AFP/Getty Images)

Doctors and nurses take part in training in treating infectious diseases in an isolation room during a presentation on diagnosing and treating patients with Ebola virus symptoms in Bern, Switzerland, on Oct. 23. (Photo: Alessandro Della Valle, European Pressphoto Agency)

Filipino health workers hold anti-government placards outside a public hospital intended for Ebola patients in Manila. The group criticized the government in its hope of combating and responding to the threat of Ebola, if it hits the country. Placard reads; "The government can't provide sufficient funding for Tuberculosis let alone Ebola." (Photo: Dennis M. Sabangan, european pressphoto agency)

The Taiwanese Centers for Disease Control displays protective gear during a demonstration on how to handle Ebola patients in Taipei, Taiwan. Taiwan has not reported any Ebola infection cases but has designated six hospitals to treat Ebola patients. (Photo: Taiwan CDC via European Pressphoto Agency)

Ashoka Mukpo shakes hands with physician Kristina Bailey after being released from the treatment unit at the Nebraska Medical Center on Oct. 22 in Omaha. Mukpo was treated and released at UNMC after contracting Ebola in West Africa while working as a freelance journalist. (Photo: Taylor Wilson, Nebraska Medicine via Getty Images)

Armed forces of Liberia officer Ew Dennis speaks with community members on Oct. 18 about an Ebola treatment unit to be built in their village. (Photo: Craig Philbrick, U.S. Army via european pressphoto agency)

A health care worker in protective gear sprays disinfectant around the house of a person suspected to have Ebola virus in Port Loko Community, on the outskirts of Freetown, Sierra Leone. (Photo: Michael Duff, AP)

British Army medics board an airplane as they depart for Sierra Leone at RAF Brize Norton in Brize Norton, England. They will man the Ebola Training Academy, instructing the health care workers who will be working in the five Ebola Treatment Units the UK is currently building. (Photo: Matt Cardy, Getty Images)

Barbara Smith, left, a nurse at Mount Sinai Health Systems, and Dr. Bryan Christiansen, a member of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's Infection Control Team for the Ebola Response, demonstrate proper safety techniques during an Ebola education session for healthcare workers at the Jacobs Javits Center on Oct. 21 in New York. (Photo: Timothy A. Clary, AFP/Getty Images)

British military medics wait at a departure lounge before boarding an aircraft for Sierra Leone at Royal Air Force base Brize Norton in England. The medics from 35 Squadron, 5th Medical Regiment, will staff the Ebola Training Academy, instructing health care workers who will be working at five treatment units. (Photo: Matt Cardy, Getty Images)

Passengers leave the Carnival Magic after docking in Galveston. A Dallas lab supervisor who handled a specimen from Thomas Eric Duncan, who died last week after contracting Ebola, was in voluntary isolation in her cabin aboard the cruise ship. She tested negative. (Photo: Jennifer Reynolds, AP)

Men in hazmat suits clean the station where a person became sick at a DART train station in Dallas on Oct. 18. The person had supposedly been at the same apartment complex where Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan was staying. (Photo: Larry W. Smith, European Pressphoto Agency)

A health worker takes a baby from his mother as he prepares to carry the infant to a reopened Ebola holding center on Oct. 17 in the West Point neighborhood in Monrovia, Liberia. The baby, his mother and grandmother were all taken to the Ebola center after they tested positive for a fever. (Photo: John Moore, Getty Images)

An Ebola tracing coordinator checks the temperature of Jessica Sompon and discovers she has a fever in the West Point neighborhood in Monrovia. A family member living in the home died the previous day from Ebola. (Photo: John Moore, Getty Images)

A custodial worker leaves after cleaning Davis Elementary School in Dallas, Texas. The school was closed after it was discovered that a health care worker who treated one of the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital nurses infected with the Ebola virus lives at a home with students from the school. (Photo: Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images)

Employees with Cleaning Guys Environmental carry disinfecting equipment into North Belton Middle School. The Central Texas school district has temporarily closed three of its campuses after a family of four, including two students from the district, traveled on the same flight as a nurse who has since been diagnosed with Ebola. (Photo: Rusty Schramm, The Temple Daily Telegram, via AP)

An ambulance carrying Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital nurse Nina Pham leaves the Frederick Municipal Airport on Oct. 16 in Frederick, Md. Pham contracted Ebola when she was part of a team who cared for Thomas Eric Duncan, a Liberian man who eventually died from the virus on Oct. 8. (Photo: Mark Wilson, Getty Images)

People for a convoy transporting Texas nurse Nina Pham after she arrived at Frederick Municipal Airport on Oct. 16 in Frederick, Md. Pham was moved to the National Institutes of Health facility in Bethesda, Md. (Photo: Patrick Semansky, AP)

Hospital staffers cheer as an ambulance transporting nurse Nina Pham, who is infected with Ebola, leaves Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital for Love Field in Dallas. Dozens of co-workers gathered outside the hospital and waved signs in support as Pham was flown to a health care facility in Maryland for treatment. (Photo: G.J. McCarthy, The Dallas Morning News, via AP)

After putting on their protective gear, hazmat workers on Oct. 16 prepare to enter the apartment at The Village Bend East complex where a second health care worker who has tested positive for the Ebola virus resides, in Dallas. Nurse Amber Vinson joins Nina Pham as health workers who have contracted the Ebola virus at Texas Heath Presbyterian Hospital while treating patient Thomas Eric Duncan, who has since died. (Photo: Mike Stone, Getty Images)

Hazmat workers with Protect Environmental unload barrels in preparation for decontaminating an apartment at The Village Bend East apartment complex where Amber Vinson, a second health care worker who has tested positive for the Ebola virus, resides in Dallas. (Photo: Mike Stone, Getty Images)

Members of the Dallas Fire-Rescue Haz Mat Unit tapes off the door of a second health care worker who tested positive for the Ebola virus on Oct. 15 at the The Village Bend East apartments in Dallas. The worker at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital was monitoring herself for symptoms and reported a fever. She was in isolation within 90 minutes. (Photo: Sana Syed, City of Dallas, via AP)

Heinz Schuhmacher, left, and Marc Dangel, advisers for infection prevention, show how to properly put on protective garments during a demonstration on how to handle Ebola cases at the university hospital in Basel, Switzerland. The World Health Organization projects the Ebola infection rates in West Africa will rise to 5,000 to10,000 new cases a week by December. (Photo: Ennio Leanza, European Pressphoto Agency)

Aid workers from the Liberian Medical Renaissance League stage an Ebola awareness event in Monrovia, Liberia. The group performs street dramas to educate the public on Ebola symptoms and the handling of people who are infected with the virus. (Photo: John Moore, Getty Images)

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SIM, The missionary group with which Nancy Writebol worked issued the following statement Thursday morning:

Nancy Writebol, the SIM missionary stricken with Ebola Virus Disease and undergoing treatment in an isolation unit at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, has tested clear of the virus and was discharged from the hospital on Tuesday, Aug. 19. She and her husband, David, have gone to an undisclosed location to rest and spend time with one another.

Writebol is one of two patients treated for Ebola virus infection at Emory. The second patient, Kent Brantly, MD, is being discharged today.

"After a rigorous course of treatment and testing, the Emory Healthcare team has determined that both patients have recovered from the Ebola virus and can return to their families and community without concern for spreading this infection to others," Bruce Ribner, MD, director of Emory's Infectious Disease Unit, said at a press conference today.

Criteria for the patients' discharges were based on blood and urine diagnostic tests and standard infectious disease protocols. Emory said its medical team maintained its extensive safety procedures throughout the treatment process and is confident the discharge of the patients poses no public health threat.

"The Emory Healthcare team is extremely pleased with Dr. Brantly's and Mrs. Writebol's recovery, and was inspired by their spirit and strength, as well as by the steadfast support of their families," said Ribner.

The following statement was made by Nancy Writebol's husband, David, today:

"Nancy joined the ranks of a small, but hopefully growing number of survivors of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) when she walked out of the Emory University Hospital Isolation Unit on Tuesday afternoon, Aug. 19. She had been in isolation fighting the disease since July 26. Nancy is free of the virus, but the lingering effects of the battle have left her in a significantly weakened condition. Thus, we decided it would be best to leave the hospital privately to be able to give her the rest and recuperation she needs at this time.

"During the course of her fight, Nancy recalled the dark hours of fear and loneliness, but also a sense of the deep abiding peace and presence of God, giving her comfort. She was greatly encouraged knowing that there were so many people around the world lifting prayers to God for her return to health. Her departure from the hospital, free of the disease, is powerful testimony to God's sustaining grace in time of need.

"We wish to give our word of thanks to Dr. Ribner and the staff at Emory University Hospital for their kind dedication to Nancy's care during her stay. We also give our thanks to the SIM doctors and the Samaritan's Purse team in Liberia for their loving and tireless care for Nancy. We thank God for these and so many others whom God used to bring Nancy back from the brink of death. It is hoped that the things the doctors and researchers have learned as a result of Nancy's illness will be applied to the saving of many lives."

"Nancy and David are taking a long, well-deserved break of peace and quiet to reflect on all that has transpired over the past four to five weeks, all that God has done, and seeking how God will lead them in future paths of service, " said Bruce Johnson, president, SIM USA. "The courageous, humble, faith-filled spirit of the Writebols is a testament to the same calling and commitment of the thousands of their co-workers in SIM from Asia, Africa, Europe, North and South America."

Writebol was serving with her husband at SIM's ELWA mission campus in Monrovia, Liberia, when she and Brantly contracted Ebola. Brantly was serving at the ELWA Hospital as part of a cooperative work between SIM and Samaritan's Purse. After treatment in Liberia, both were flown to Atlanta and admitted to Emory University Hospital, where they underwent additional treatment.

According to CNN, two blood tests done over a two-day period had to come back negative for Ebola before Brantly could be discharged. When he first showed signs of the disease, he was apparently so ill that he called his wife to say goodbye. An experimental drug helped make Brantly strong enough to walk from the ambulance into the hospital when he first arrived at Emory.

American doctor Kent Brantly who contracted Ebola while treating patients in Liberia has recovered and will be discharged from Atlanta's Emory Hospital. Linda So reports.

Samaritan's Purse, the Christian humanitarian organization for which Brantly works, released this statement from its president, Franklin Graham, Thursday morning:

Today I join all of our Samaritan's Purse team around the world in giving thanks to God as we celebrate Dr. Kent Brantly's recovery from Ebola and release from the hospital. Over the past few weeks, I have marveled at Dr. Brantly's courageous spirit as he has fought this horrible virus with the help of the highly competent and caring staff at Emory University Hospital. His faithfulness to God and compassion for the people of Africa have been an example to us all.

I know that Dr. Brantly and his wonderful family would ask that you please remember and pray for those in Africa battling, treating and suffering from Ebola. Those who have given up the comforts of home to serve the suffering and the less fortunate are in many ways just beginning this battle.

We have more than 350 staff in Liberia, and others will soon be joining them, so please pray for those who have served with Dr. Brantly -- along with the other doctors, aid workers and organizations that are at this very moment desperately trying to stop Ebola from taking any more lives.

Thomas Eric Duncan of Monrovia, Liberia, is the first patient to be diagnosed with the Ebola virus in the USA. While visiting relatives, he developed symptoms and is being treated at Texas Health Presbyterian hospital in Dallas. Since December, there have been 7,492 cases and 3,439 deaths attributed to the Ebola virus in five countries in West Africa and the USA, according to the World Health Organization.

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SOURCES: World Health Organization, USA TODAY research. Note: A separate outbreak of the Ebola virus, which is not related to the outbreak in West Africa, is occurring in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. As of Oct. 1, 2014.